The Final Mission
by Pixel and Stephanie Forever
Summary: Years after the fight against Admiral Kawano and his treasonous forces, the class is reunited once more to battle a new enemy with a new type of weapon that could kill millions in one strike. Disobeying orders to remain in home waters, the class recruit their former Captain to lead them into battle once more and steal vessels. For some, though, this will be their final mission...
1. To Steal A Fleet…

**To Steal A Fleet…**

"Fifteen years…" the man shook his head in disbelief. "Fifteen years and we finally get to strike a blow against our enemies"

"Are they, Sir?" asked a woman. "I mean I know they are powerful, but they have done nothing to us"

"Are you intending to disobey your orders, Commander?"

"No, Sir… I just want to understand"

"Ah, very well then… We wish to grow our area of influence – but the Japanese Navy patrols that area along with their contribution to the Blue Mermaids. By taking them out in an attack, it will take years for them to recover and rebuild – and none of them will ever guess it is us that did it"

"Are we not worried that Japan will find out and declare war on us?"

"Even if they did, their fleet would be crippled beyond repair" the man shrugged, "Order the weapon prepared and the fleet to be deployed"

"Yes, Sir"

#

"I can't believe we're all going to meet her at the same time" Maron said as she almost burst through the deck in her excitement.

"Calm down, Maron" Mashiro told her Chief Engineer.

"Sorry" Maron grinned, "But to see the Captain with the entire crew after all this time…"

"You see the Captain every day, Chief Engineer"

"You know there is only one Captain"

"Not sure if I am pleased or insulted" Mashiro laughed and then gave an order to her Helmsman. "Steer 121 – half ahead both"

"Coming starboard to 121… Half ahead both" and the _Defender_, Mashiro's newest command, swung round and headed for a quiet little bay. Over the years, the Harekaze Class, as it was known, had broken up and gone on to other things. Mei and Tama were now Deputy Captains, the twins were joint head of the Blue Mermaid catering division, Sora was Assistant Chief Engineer on a Blue Mermaid destroyer and others were currently on shoreside appointments.

"You know the Captain was thinking of coming back?" Mashiro asked as she stood looking at the land she called home.

"No, I didn't"

"Blue Mermaids had a ship almost ready but without weapons. Because of some budget cuts, there are no weapons for it. Instead of just storing it, they persuaded the Captain to command it as a medical ship – it goes much faster without weapons and the ammo" Mashiro shrugged. "Mind you, she does do a weapons drill every six months just in case"

"She's fully back?"

"No – but she has some small arms in case of blimp attack"

"So what does she do the rest of the time?" Maron looked around the Bridge, feeling uneasy at not being in her beloved Engine Room whilst underway.

"She teaches from time to time on our time together, but mainly she just sits at her cottage and leaves a peaceful life painting" Mashiro hung up her telescope on the hook. "Officer of the Watch, prepare a boat for launch – Chief Engineer and I will be leaving a short time. Helmsman, you have the Conn"

#

"Shiro… Maron…" Akeno came bounding down the stone steps to the little harbour and gathered them both in a tight hug.

"Captain" the pair of them saluted.

"Never going to stop you from doing that, am I?"

"Never!" they declared with a laugh.

"So what brings you here?" Akeno asked with a smile. "I thought you would have had your own ship by now, Maron"

"I prefer engines… Besides, the last time I left Shiro for any length of time" Maron shrugged and made a gesture with her hands, "She put the _Defender_ into drydock… _For four weeks_"

"Are you still giving English names to your ships?" Akeno raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"All I did was change a lightbulb. Anyway, Akeno, we've got a major problem. The Americans are sending their ships over to attack us in a massive assault along with a secret kind of weapon we don't know the details of yet. I've tried telling the IJN, but all they have done is pull most of the navy back which leaves the Blumers to carry more weight" Mashiro said. "I've spoken to the others of our class and they've agreed to go out with us to find these ships and stop them before they get close"

"And how am I involved?"

"Because we need you to lead us… In all of the fights we have been in, you were the one that led us to victory in every engagement" Maron said.

"If the fleet has been ordered to remain in port, how do you propose to find this American fleet?" Akeno asked.

"Most of us that hold senior positions in the fleet are offering to bring their ships along – nobody knows about this except for encrypted communications… A legacy from Kaede" Mashiro replied. "Captain, even after all these years, you are still the most experienced commander we have. We need you… _I_ need you. If we are to do this, we must do it now and without the government, the Navy or even His Imperial Majesty knowing about this"

"How many ships?"

"Three cruisers, a pair of destroyers and a battleship… Mina and Kouko are coming with the _Bismarck_ as fast as possible and meeting us at Lubong Island, but they are a week away at maximum speeds"

"What about Gufran?" Akeno asked.

"Two weeks away at top speed on his submarine… he'd never make it" Maron said with regret.

"I see… How long will it take this fleet to arrive near Japan?"

"Four weeks" and Akeno nodded and thought about it for several long moments. After a little while, she spoke once again.

"Go back to the _Defender_ and return in two hours back at this place" Akeno said, "You will have your answer then" and, out of old habit, Mashiro and Maron saluted Akeno and turned to walk back to their boat. Akeno, for her part, watched them return to the _Defender_ before climbing the stone steps back to her cottage thinking hard. What Mashiro and Maron were asking her to do was tantamount to treason and theft of valuable warships that could help defend their nation. On the other hand, keeping the fleet in home waters would limit the time they had to combat this enemy fleet and stop it from launching this new and terrible weapon. With an understanding, Akeno went to her cottage, entered her bedroom and pulled out a sea chest that hadn't been opened except slightly to oil the lock in years. Looking at the contents, she sighed – knowing that she was she going to do was not what she _wanted_ but what she _had_ to do.

#

When the boat returned for Akeno, they found her fully dressed in a dress uniform that was outdated and wearing a slightly dinted Captain's hat and a dress sword attached to her hip. When hearing this news, Mashiro quickly organised a guard to welcome her old Captain aboard which Akeno shook her head at it but accepted all the same. Once the boat was secured, a message was sent out to various ships and people before the _Defender_ set off at top speed for Kure and the port there.

Akeno Misaki was back…

#

_Defender_ got to its assigned berth and Mashiro left the vessel in the hands of her Deputy Captain as she, Akeno and Maron hurried onto the dockside and got into a car. Rumours had abounded after Akeno had boarded in an old style dress uniform – had she been recalled to active duty? As _Defender_'s crew watched, trucks started arriving and unloading items to a number of the ships. Three hours later and more questions were asked as alarms started sounding and ships started leaving their berths.

#

"Clear and free to navigate" Mashiro reported as she brought the _Harekaze_ from its place and out into the open harbour.

"Acknowledged… Bridge to Engine Room, ease the engines up to full speed" Akeno fell into the familiar pattern of commanding a warship. Not only did Akeno find it easy enough to get used to it again, she found it fitting that she was back on the Bridge of the second _Harekaze_. With so few crew at hand, only Akeno and Mashiro were on the Bridge with Maron handling the engines by herself. "Shiro, steer dead centre of the opening and get us out of here… Let's just hope the power cut to the radar systems works as well as it does"

"Maron normally knows what she is doing" Mashiro agreed. Other ships leaving Kure quickly joined up with the _Harekaze_ and followed her out into the open sea. Once they were well past visual range, they would turn onto a new course for an hour before steaming hard for Lupang Island where they fleet would fully assemble.

"I see that they put her back to the configuration she had when we last sailed her" Akeno said, going over a list of the vessel's condition.

"More or less" Mashiro said as she made a small adjustment to the Helm. "The main batteries are back to how they used to be, but they modified the torpedo launchers a little a few years ago. The engines are almost completely brand new which, in a way, is good"

"Oh?"

"She was going to be retired for use as a museum ship and sailed around the country" Mashiro explained. "Did you not get the letters about it?"

"No" Akeno shook her head and looked back at the notes. "Did you organise the loading of ammunition?"

"Yes – me and Maron thought it was best that we came out fully loaded in case there was no supplies to be had"

"Ah…" Akeno frowned. "You know, I almost gave an order to Rin then"

"I know how you feel" Mashiro replied. "I sometimes give orders to the others that died without thinking about it"

"Well I hope that we get some more crew when we get to our destination" Akeno said, running a finger along the arm of the Captain's chair, "Going to be difficult crewing this with the three of us – even with all the automation"

"We should get more than enough crew to run this ship – enough for actual duty watches" Mashiro and Akeno laughed as they remembered the way the schedules had worked out with the old _Harekaze_.

"Shiro, are you worried about your people?"

"Mum and my sisters are going to be upset with what I have done, but they will understand in time"

"I meant your crew"

"They are my crew… Apart from Maron, I was never especially close to them. My friends are my family… I learnt that from a wise woman" Mashiro smiled as Akeno blushed heavily.

"That woman was once a foolish girl"

"Perhaps, but that foolish girl was very smart and did extraordinary things"

"Yes… Yes she did" Akeno straightened her pose and spoke with more confidence. "Helm, best speed to Lubong Island"

"Aye, Aye, Captain" Mashiro grinned – her Captain was back.

#

Three days later, they got close to their destination and the _Harekaze_ slowed her progress – as did the other ships. There had been no electronic communication between them and all messages were sent by morse lamp in order to prevent them from being located. Despite being just the three of them, Akeno, Mashiro and Maron launched a Skipper and headed towards the island. As they drew nearer, they could see familiar and new faces waiting for them as they were the last to arrive. Akeno could see Tama, Mei, Hime, Mono, Sora and many others waiting for her and they came to attention and saluted their former Captain and good friend. From what she knew, Akeno could tell her friends and new faces represented the finest officers in the Imperial Navy and the Blue Mermaids – all had broke orders and gathered here to discuss the situation. They met in a tent that had been set up on the beach and discussed the threat that had bought them together.

"The American fleet is sailing towards Japan and will get in range of rockets within four weeks, we believe, however, that the weapon either does not need to be launched by rocket or requires a shorter range" Mashiro said. "I'm guessing that they will refuel somewhere around Midway Atoll where they have a base – that's 3,915 miles away at top speed if we take the most direct route. If they can refuel before we get there, they'd be able to escape into the Pacific and let us run around in circles before its too late"

"So what is the plan?" asked one of the Captains.

"If we steam at top speed, we can be there in less than a week" Maron said. "At that point, our ships would require some refuelling which we can take from their own supplies after we bombard the island and storm ashore to capture it. With Midway under our control, we'd be able to wait for a while and make needed repairs and minor refits before staging out to meet the fleet head-on. Even if the ship carrying the weapon manages to escape, it would be very low on fuel before it got to Japanese waters"

"Could they have a supply ship with them?"

"Its possible" Maron replied, "But we believe they do not because a cargo vessel going missing would be news"

"It goes without saying that some of us might be killed" Mashiro added. "Nobody has engaged an enemy fleet for decades, but we have Captain Misaki with us who has agreed to take the post of Fleet Commander. Despite her quiet life, she is still the most experienced commander we have by a huge margin. Captain?"

"So far, we have done nothing but leave port without orders to do so. However, when we sail from here we will be mutineers attacking a foreign fleet without orders. I want you to go back to your ships, explain the situation to your crews and ask them what they want to do. If there are people who wish to return home, they will be put on the same ship and given the course for home and nothing will be held against them. As I understand it, some of your crews have asked to transfer to the _Harekaze_ and help to crew it. However, I will not take people from your ships unless you agree to it. I want a complete status report on all ships delivered by hand to the _Harekaze_ in three hours" she looked at the people in the tent – faces old and new – and sighed. "You must all know that when we sail for Midway, we must fire upon them before they can get a message out for help – and it might be the case that we take some lives in order to save others. Be sure to impart that information to your crews as well" Akeno looked around at the grim looks and turned the meeting back over to Mashiro.

# # # # #

"I never thought I'd see you back on the Bridge of a warship" Tama said.

"This was not how I intended to spend my next month" Akeno admitted.

"Nor me… I had tickets to the opera next week"

"I didn't think you liked that sort of thing" Akeno raised an eyebrow.

"Not normally, but every year I go to a performance at the National Theatre in honour of Kaede" Tama said and Akeno hesitated at the reminder of a fallen friend before shaking her head clear of bad thoughts. "What brought you back? They have tried a few times, but you turned them all down"

"Duty" Akeno replied, "Duty to my country and my friends… I could not sit by and watch as you headed into battle. That and something told me this will be my final mission"

"You giving up the sea for good?"

"No" Akeno said, "I think I am going to die"

"I'd rather you didn't" Maron said from the corner of the tent.

"I rather wouldn't, but after you and Shiro asked me to come with you, I went back to my cottage and thought hard about it. I want peace, but I would rather die on the Bridge of a ship so I can rejoin my fallen friends and say that I fell with honour" and Maron and Tama looked at Akeno keenly.

"You mean that, don't you?"

"Yeah"

"Well" Maron got to her feet, "I best go back to the ship… Have a lot of work to do. Captain, the _Harekaze_ will be ready to sail in twelve hours" and she saluted and walked off to get a boat.

"CAPTAIN…!" Mashiro came racing through the flaps of the tent with a piece of paper in her hand.

"What is it?" Akeno looked up.

"We picked up a message from one of the Navy's cruisers – it saw the American fleet and was destroyed by them… It was their last message and was almost unreadable"

"Where?"

"We couldn't make it out fully, but we think somewhere around three hundred miles away from Pearl Harbor and steaming in a general direction towards Midway"

"Do you think they heard it back home?"

"I doubt it very much – we almost never heard it ourselves" and Akeno looked at the ships bobbing at anchor.

"We're going now" she decided at last. "Tell everyone they have an hour to find people to help man the _Harekaze_ before we set sail for Midway Atoll"

"Aye, Aye"

#

"All hands, this is Captain Misaki… All stations, report to the Bridge"

"_Engine Room ready in all respects_" Maron announced.

"_Torpedo and subsurface warfare ready_"

"_Main and Secondary batteries are standing by_"

"_Communications online_"

"_Lookouts posted_"

"_Radar ready_"

"_Sonar is a go_"

"Captain" Mashiro turned to Akeno formally, "The ship reports ready for sea"

"Very good" Akeno picked up the waiting microphone. "Attention all ships, this is the Fleet Commander… Set course for Midway Atoll and come to 18 knots… After acknowledging this, make no further transmissions of any kind by radio. Mashiro, take the wheel"

"Aye, Captain… I have the wheel"

"Ring on for 18 knots and come right bearing 223"

"Acknowledged" and Mashiro rang the engine telegraphs, promptly replied to by a waiting Maron, and spun the wheel as the fleet swung round and came together for the dash to Midway and the US base there.

"Lookouts…" Akeno gripped her the arms of her chair tightly, "Signal the following in flags and morse lamps to the fleet - _Action Stations_"

**A/N:**

**You know what to do…**

**Regards,**

**Pixel and Stephanie**


	2. Engagements and Thoughts

**Engagements and Thoughts**

"Helm, hard to starboard. Gunnery Officer, fire barrel by barrel down the line at shore batteries – load with HE rounds. Bridge to Engine Room, damage report" Akeno said.

"_That last set of torpedoes took out our sonar array, but they must have been duds – no major damage to the lower hull_"

"Very well" Akeno hung up the handset without waiting to hear more. "Helm, set your rudder amidships. When you hear the next torpedo incoming, I want you to steer right towards it and keep going along that heading. Shiro where the hell is that destroyer?"

"I can't tell with it being darkened" Mashiro replied. "We'd be able to find it easily enough if we go active"

"That would give away our position"

"I think they have it now, Akeno" Mashiro replied, using her Captain's first name to emphasis the point as the _Harekaze_ groaned from the impact of gunfire. The rest of their fleet was engaged in gunfire support and trying to knock out shore based weapons to help the upcoming landing.

"Do we have rockets onboard?" Akeno quickly made up her mind.

"Only by firing off the aft rails"

"Load one on each of the rails and prepare to fire the minute I tell you – link flight computer to the sonar"

"Aye, Captain" Mashiro picked up a handset. "This is the Bridge, prepare for rocket salvo. Load a single item on each of the rails… Priority fire mission"

"Radar, this is the Captain. On my authority as Fleet Commander and Captain of this ship, break Emcon and find me anything that isn't a friendly"

"_Not sure how I know which is which_"

"It will be the little dot coming towards the other dots. Sonar, same goes for you – break Emcon and search for that bastard. Pass on to the torpedo launchers. All hands, prepare for full battle"

"_CONTACT! I have Radar contact – one thousand yards and bearing 123 degrees_"

"Steer 303 – all ahead flank speed" Akeno worked it out in an instant and gave the needed commands.

"_Sonar reporting… I have no contact from the submarine. Its either lost power, gone silent or left the area_"

"Understood… Continue the Sonar sweeps. Radar, I want that sucker found.

"Captain, my course is 303" the Helm reported.

"All back full" Akeno replied, making a note to try and learn her name.

"All back, Aye, Aye" and the ship suddenly dug its nose into the ocean as it came almost to a halt. "Fire both rockets"

"Rockets away" and Mashiro triggered the launch from the Bridge and sent the rockets screaming from the _Harekaze_ to the enemy vessel – impacting the hull and tearing huge chunks from it.

"Now we have a beacon" Akeno smiled grimly. "Radio Room, break silence and have the destroyers follow us in an attack"

"_Acknowledged_"

"Helm, bring us around broadside to target and match its speed and course changes. Guns and Torpedoes – fire at will" and the _Harekaze_ and her attendant destroyers fired at the enemy with prejudice. It tried to put up a fight, but it ended up sinking by the bow and the two destroyers took on prisoners from the survivors whilst the _Harekaze_ moved closer to shore to deploy her landing parties.

"_Sonar here… Are we having engine trouble_?"

"I don't think so" Akeno looked at Mashiro who called down to the Engine Room to ask Maron.

"Maron says she isn't having trouble at all"

"_Well something must be wrong… I can hear noises coming from underneath us – have we part lost a blade_?"

"Helm, emergency stop – all back full. Hard to port… Starboard depth charge launcher, prepare to deploy"

"Captain?" Mashiro blinked at Akeno snapping like that.

"Shiro, the bloody thing is underneath us!" and Mashiro's eyes widened as the ship ground to a halt as she swung round. At Akeno's command, the starboard depth charge launcher fired a full spread which straddled the submarine and caused the craft to be shaken around by the explosions.

"_Bridge, Sonar… Hull popping noises – I think its coming to the surface_"

"All stop… Aim aft turret directly at the sail – prepare to open fire with blanks"

"Blanks?" Mashiro frowned in confusion before realising what Akeno intended. "You think that submarine has vital information?"

"It has to have something" Akeno shrugged. "Maron, do you remember that time we went and visited that _Virginia_ class submarine?"

"_Sure_" came the reply from the voice pipe.

"Then get up here with your toolkit and be ready to board one. We've forced one to the surface and I want to capture any information it might have, but I need you to deactivate the scuttling charges"

"_Aye, Aye_"

"Prepare our Skippers to launch to the sub… Seaboats to deploy our landing parties. Radio, the minute that sub surfaces, order it to have all crew come to the deck and line up on their knees and with hands on their heads. If they attempt to submerge or scuttle the boat, inform them we will fire upon them. Guns, load Turret 2 with live shells – set to impact on contact with water"

"You've not lost it, have you?" Mashiro chuckled as she watched boats being launched from other vessels.

"I may have quit, Shiro, but my oath to serve the Emperor still holds true… If I have to break the law in order to preserve him, then that is what I will have to do"

"Just asking…" Mashiro turned to look out of the windows as the submarine surfaced. They waited for several minutes before the submarine's periscope raised, turned to face the _Harekaze_ and started flashing its lamp. "Can… Not… Open… Hatches… Due… To… Damage… Require… Help" Mashiro raised her binoculars and took a look. The hatches on the side of the sail she could see looked crumpled and heavily dinted – she had to assume it looked the same on the other side. "We'll have to send an engineering team to get them open"

"We're short enough on people as it is" Akeno said. "Most of the crew have gone ashore as landing parties… Shiro, will you and Maron go over and deal with it?" and Mashiro instantly nodded. The girl knew how hard it must be for Akeno to order her friends into a dangerous situation, but she knew it was the only way.

"Aye"

"_Captain, Radio Room. We're getting messages from our teams on Midway… They say you had better get over there – they've found something you want to see_"

#

Whatever Akeno had seen had taken hours, Mashiro and Maron had freed one of the hatches and placed the submarine's crew under arrest in one of the few buildings still standing, and then Akeno had returned to the _Harekaze_ and gone straight to her cabin before calling for a meeting with all of the fleet's Captains.

"Our mission to take Midway went well, however we lost several people and dozens more seriously injured. In the coming days and weeks, we will deal with our losses… However, that is not what I want to talk to you about. Teams went through the computers on the American base and discovered information on what this new weapon might be" Akeno tapped a button and the projector whirled into life and showed an image on the drop down screen. "They have been working in secret for years to create a bomb capable of wiping out an entire city. We've always thought this impossible until now – they built one. We're not sure exactly how it works, but the information in the computers seems to indicate that it is something to do with splitting atoms"

"I know of this" Tama raised her hand. "Atoms make up everything in existence – find a way to blow them up, and you could eliminate entire cities or even countries with enough"

"Like Tokyo?"

"Yeah"

"We can't let them get within range of the place to launch it" Mashiro said.

"Shiro, I get the idea the Americans are not going to launch it"

"Then how are they going to use it?"

"Maybe they are taking a leaf out of our history" Akeno said darkly.

"They wouldn't…!"

"Think about it, Shiro… Most of our government is located there – take out Tokyo and you cripple the entire country for months if not _years_" Akeno shook her head. "If they get close enough to detonate this bomb, they could wipe out the majority of our capital vessels too. Have any of the prisoners talked?"

"Not really" Mei said. "Some of them have tried to do so in order to be set free, but its all worthless"

"Have our shore parties set demolition charges on all of the remaining buildings. Take all of their fuel and ammunition supplies and spread them through the fleet"

"What about the prisoners?"

"We leave them on the island with food and water – they could use the debris for shelter… We are getting out of here" Akeno crossed to the handset in the mess hall. "Radio room, this is the Captain. Break radio silence and request the location of the _Bismarck_. Shiro, get everybody but the essential shore parties back to their own boats"

"Aye"

"As for the rest of you, for now we're going to keep this a secret" Akeno told them.

"The ones that found the information were from my ship" said the _Hiel_'s Captain, "They must have already spread the news around the ship by now"

"Confine them to their cabins until we sail" Akeno said flatly. "As for the rest of you, I want all ships ready for departure the minute the last people return from dropping off the prisoners. We will resume radio silence once we get _Bismarck_'s location"

"Where are we going?"

"My orders stand… We are going to intercept the enemy fleet and destroy it – and with any luck send this weapon to the bottom of the ocean. If we can meet up with our allies in time, we can stop them in time or at least give the Blue Mermaids and the Navy time to stage out and join the attack"

"Strength in numbers" Tama said.

"Yes…" Akeno said, "At least that's what I hope. They must not be allowed to use that weapon - all other concerns are secondary...You understand me?" and everybody in the room looked at each other before nodding their acceptance.

"We do, Captain" Mashiro answered for them all.

"Then lets go"

#

On the Bridge of the _Bismarck_, Mina and Kouko read the message handed to them by one of the crew – trying to work out a hidden meaning in its content. Both of them knew they would be Court Martialled the moment they returned to port, assuming they did, so they were very surprised when their old ship, _Graf Spee_ had turned up and joined up with them. The pair of them had sailed under complete silence and at full speed. The only time they slowed was when they encountered an oiler that they'd tricked into thinking the stop and arrest order broadcast was actually a massive and totally realistic drill.

"Coco, I think this is more serious then we thought. I know the Americans are inventive bastards, but to do something to explode the air…?"

"Cripple Japan, start a war and wipe the rest out" Kouko shook her head in disgust. "I wish we could be in a better position to help them. Have we heard anything from Gufran?"

"Not since he said he was getting underway… Assuming he goes at full speed, he should meet up with us around here" Mina tapped a spot on the chart in front of them. "From there, its only another two days travel until we meet with Akeno and whatever ships she's managed to get together"

"The last message we got was that it was a mixed group of cruisers, destroyers, battleships and a blimp carrier" and Mina would have replied if a phone had not started buzzing. Shooting it a dirty look, the woman walked over and picked it up.

"Captain"

"_Chief Engineer, Ma'am. We've gone below thirty percent on the fuel supplies… If we keep up this speed, I can't be certain of reaching the meeting point_"

"Coco, find out if there is a fuelling station on our current heading" Mina whispered. "Chief, I know the situation with the fuel is an issue, but we must reach our destination even if it means running out when we get there"

"_I know, but if we keep going into this headwind…_"

"Mi… There isn't anything between here and our rendezvous point" Kouko returned after checking details on a computer.

"Damn… Start checking our position with that of commercial tankers – we might have to take fuel by force"

"I hope we don't"

"Neither do I" Mina replied. "Chief, I know you will hate this, but you have to keep the engines running at full speed. Do everything possible to maximise the fuel… Take it from the small boats – every little drop helps"

"_Aye… Engineering out_"

"Mina" Kouko came back to the map table, "We've got a pair of tankers about thirty miles away – nobody else around as far as we can see on the scopes"

"May God forgive me for what I am about to do" she whispered. "Signal _Spee_ to increase to flank and follow our course change. Helm, increase to flank speed. All hands, battle stations! Close up on the secondary weapons. The moment they come into range of our guns, I want to open fire on their radio masts and fire torpedoes to disable only. Prepare boarding teams to secure the crews of the tankers and get the fuel to us"

"I should remind you this action is classed as piracy" Kouko said.

"Understood" Mina replied. "We've only got a short time until we have to get moving again, so have refuelling teams standing by with the equipment to take the fuel"

"Right… Do you think we'll make it in time?"

"I hope so" Mina rubbed her thumb over the coin that she'd been given as a memento of her service aboard that first _Harekaze_ and prayed hard. She wasn't exactly religious, but she knew there was sometimes a higher power she could appeal to for help, "I damned well hope so… Officer of the Watch, carry on – Coco, come with me"

# # # # #

"You wanted to see me, Captain?" Mashiro asked as she stepped into Akeno's cabin. By the working out of positions, they assumed that they would soon be meeting with the American fleet.

"Yes – sit down and drop the formality. I wanted to talk to you privately before things started getting busy around here" Akeno poured out a glass of some amber liquid and pushed it over to Mashiro. "We've been friends for many years now, Shiro, and I wanted to thank you for that friendship. I know that I wasn't always easy to get to know or understand at first, but I hope I've gone up in your estimation"

"I don't understand" Mashiro raised an eyebrow as she swallowed a sip of the drink.

"Shiro, I don't think I'm coming back from this one. All of my instincts, all of my experiences… They all say this is my final cruise"

"You can't talk like that… You've always got us home safely"

"Not all of us, Shiro, not all of us. To absent friends…" and the pair clinked the glasses together. "This is good stuff" Akeno moaned in appreciation of the taste hitting her tongue and throat.

"Where did you get it from?" Mashiro savoured the burning sensation.

"I swapped it for a bottle of strong rice wine last time I met up with a British ship… Man, they know how to party" and a slight blush crept up her cheeks which did not go unnoticed by Mashiro.

"There's a story there"

"Nothing to say… We got drinking, swapped some tales and swapped bottles of drink"

"Looks like it isn't the only thing you were swapping" Mashiro sniggered.

"We only slept together twice… Or was it thr–" Akeno suddenly stopped as she realised what she was saying.

"Ho ho… Little Miss Perfect got herself drydocked!" Mashiro uncharacteristically crowed in delight. "Although I am sure it was more a case of _wet_dock then _dry_dock

"It wasn't like that!"

"If you want" smirked Mashiro, "We could always find Minami and have her explain things to you"

"Do you want some more of this or not?" Akeno growled. She could sense a night of ribbing and jokes at her expense from Mashiro, shook her head and poured them both another glass of the whisky.

"I want the details"

"Since when were you ever the gossip lover?" snorted Akeno as she learnt back in her chair.

"Ever since I spent weeks cooped up in a ship chased by powerful warships for defending myself"

"Touché… After I came back to the sea and sailed that medical ship, I went to the UK on an exchange trip and gave a lecture about out two great fights in the first _Harekaze_ and then the _Yamato_. Afterwards, this English officer came up to me, we got talking, went for drinks and ended up in his bed. On our way home, we picked up a message that one of his officers had burst his appendix and, from the sudden pain, had spasmed and broke his skull in two places. We rushed over, found it was commanded by my _lover_, for want of a better term, and after we saved his crewmember, he gave me a bottle of whisky to remember him by…" Akeno sighed, swilled the glass in circles for a while before downing it. "I've been saving it for a special occasion, but as I don't think I'm coming back from this" the woman shrugged, "I guess we better have it now"

"You'll come back from this"

"To what? The minute we all get home, we'll be placed under arrest for theft of Imperial Property, firing on foreign vessels, murder, injury, criminal damage…" Akeno looked at Mashiro firmly. "I don't _want_ to come back. I have lived with the guilt of losing my classmates, my friends, my _family_ for almost twenty years now, Shiro… I belong in the sea"

"Well if you go, I'm coming with you" Mashiro downed second glass.

"We can't both die"

"Where my Captain goes, I shall follow her"

"I could order you to leave"

"You can try to" Mashiro snorted as she reached for the bottle and poured out two more shots before placing the cap back on the neck.

"What about you…? You've been very secretive about your life"

"Me…? Not much to talk about really" Mashiro shrugged. "I married, had two wonderful children and raise them to do whatever they want to do as a profession"

"You are married?" Akeno's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I was… He was called Satashi and he was a mechanical genius. We fell in love, got married and had twins named Isoruko and Akeno" Mashiro looked into her glass.

"What happened?" Akeno asked, fearing she already knew.

"He was working at the shipyards repairing a fault with the engines of a cargo and support vessel when the engine suddenly exploded" Mashiro's eyes started to water but she did not allow the tears to fall. "According to the first on the scene, it was very quick"

"Shiro… I am so sorry – I didn't know"

"I kept it very quiet" Shiro admitted. "It has been three years, and I still find things that remind me of him… Things that make me remember the good times. I only told Maron about it because she was with me on the _Enterprise_ when I got the message. He's buried in the family plot and I went to visit him before we set sail to tell him that I love him now and always".

"Oh… WAIT A SECOND!" Akeno suddenly snickered, "You named your son after the cat from the original _Harekaze_?" and Akeno laughed hard. Once she had managed to calm herself, she looked at Mashiro with questioning eyes. "We've come a long way since our first day together as a class"

"We have indeed" Mashiro snorted and downed her glass in one. "What we did seems like a hundred years ago"

"Let us hope this gets us a hundred more of those years" Akeno commented. "Whatever happens, Shiro, we can not allow these ships to get through – all other concerns are secondary, you understand?"

"Orders acknowledged" Mashiro saluted her with a gesture of her empty glass. The pair were still talking minutes later when the alarm went off and one of the Bridge crew called for Akeno and Mashiro.

"Bridge, Akeno… Whats going on?"

"_Ma'am, we've sighted three large vessels coming directly towards us – CBDR_"

"Can you identify them?" Akeno asked.

"_Yes, Ma'am – one _Iowa_ class ship and a pair of _Clemson _class destroyers_"

"Jam their radio transmission on all bands. Signal all ships to go to Action Stations and prepare to open fire" Akeno looked at Mashiro who slowly rose to her feet. "We've found them"

#

"Range?"

"Thirty miles… All departments ready for action" Maron said.

"Right… Get below and be ready, Maron" Mashiro said. "Radio Room, break radio silence… Order the Americans to veer off or we will open fire upon them"

"I thought there would have been more of them" Akeno said slowly. "Radar, what have we got near us?"

"_Commercial traffic group of twenty transmitting Japanese IFF codes_ _– fifty miles away_"

"Shiro, have the destroyers stay here and take on these three. Helm, steer towards that commercial traffic at flank speed"

"Akeno?" Mashiro blinked.

"If they have been sinking our cargo ships, why let these ones go? The big fleet out there is the one we want – they are not going to fool anybody"

"If you are wrong…"

"If we're wrong, Shiro, then we're dead either way"

"Aye, Captain" Mashiro turned away to relay the orders.

"Radar, pass the course and speed to the Gunnery Officer" Akeno picked up the handset and spoke, "Keep them constantly updated with any changes. Sonar, any subsurface contacts?"

"_Too much noise in the water… Wait one… Bridge, I have a very faint contact at the extreme edge of my scope heading in this direction_"

"Track steady… Any word on Mina and Kouko?" she asked Mashiro as the woman came back to her side.

"No… And in this darkness, we'd not see them until they were sat on the quarterdeck"

"Main enemy fleet in range of our guns" somebody called out and, not for the first time, Akeno wished her old Bridge crew was together.

"Order all ships to aim at the ship in the middle – that will be the flagship and the one carrying the weapon"

"Orders acknowledged"

"FIRE" and the guns of all the ships roared as they hurled shells at the flagship. "Helm, steer directly for the flagship – all ahead flank. Shiro, order the fleet to pick their targets and engage"

"Aye"

"This is where it gets tricky… I want both guns and torpedoes to fire directly at the water line in the middle of the ship. By blasting at the same spot, I am hoping it will slow and end up breaking its back"

"I have visual on it" Mashiro said, pointing out the ships.

"What in the name of hell is _that_?" Akeno wondered as the ship loomed in the darkness. It looked bigger than any of the other ships in the main fleet and it looked to have impressive amounts of firepower which worried the entire Bridge crew.

"An enemy to be defeated" Mashiro said firmly. "Helm, hard to port" and the _Harekaze_ swung violently to the left so all of her weapons came to bear.

"Guns and Torpedoes together… _**FIRE**_!" Akeno yelled out and they opened up in the same spot time after time as others with them did the same.

"It isn't slowing down much…" Mashiro worried.

"Have the two ships at the end of our battle line aim for its engines – we'll take it out like we did to the _Spee_"

"Understood" and the order was passed over. "You know, if we can break open the hull then perhaps she will list so her portside guns cannot aim correctly"

"I'm hoping so" Akeno gripped the arms of the chair firmly, "Otherwise we're going to ram it. It will mean the end of us, mind you"

"I'm with you, Captain, to the end" Mashiro nodded and briefly put a soothing hand on the younger woman's shoulder.

"Thank you" Akeno replied before the _Harekaze_ was tipped almost completely over and the crew were sent tumbling to the deck all over.

**A/N:**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter – your thoughts would be very welcome on this…**

**Regards,**

**Pixel and Stephanie**


	3. Banzai

**Banzai**

"Chief Engineer, report" Akeno called as she got to her feet. The battle had been raging for over an hour now and some ships had been sunk on both sides and countless lives lost.

"_We're taking on some water, but the pumps are taking care of it_" Maron called up on the phone. "_We've got a bit of damage to the portside shaft, but nothing serious_"

"How is our speed?"

"_Full speed is still possible_"

"Keep it like that, Bridge out"

"Gunnery, switch the forward batteries to ripple fire" Mashiro ordered. "Helm, port fifteen"

"Port fifteen"

"Radio room, signal the cruisers to go up against the destroyers and frigates – all other destroyers are to follow us in. Tell the others that we have encountered an unknown ship and need as many of them as possible to help us" Akeno looked out the window at the mass of ships firing at the _Harekaze_ and her fellow vessels. "Helm, ease to five – steer 187"

"Ease to five… Steering 187"

"_Bridge, Radar… I have two ships closing fast on course 264_"

"Can you identify them?" Mashiro asked through the voicepipe.

"_Not at this range_"

"Track steady – shout out when they reach twenty six miles distance"

"_Aye_"

"Captain, we're taking heavy fire from the American ships. I recommend pulling back so we can make some emergency repairs" one of the Bridge officers called.

"Negative – have damage repair crews do the best they can" Akeno shook her head. "Helm, rudder amidships – what is this course?"

"Course is 188"

"Good enough"

"She's no Rin" and Mashiro could do nothing but simply nod. "Torpedoes, standby to fire a full spread at the enemy flagship"

"What sort of warheads?"

"The most powerful you have – set to detonate on impact" Akeno put in. "Okay, this is how it is going to happen. In a moment, we will go to flank speed and make a port turn as if to target the _Iowa_ class ship on that side. However, we will then reverse the turn and go hard to starboard so we slip in between the _Iowa_ class and the _Montana_ and fire our torpedoes at point blank range. At the same time, our guns will fire at the _Iowa_ class vessel in one massive salvo" she paused as the ship was hit by more and more weapons fire. "At that exact same moment, we will go full astern and get out of there as quickly as possible"

"Captain, Engine Room reports the starboard engine has a fuel leak" Mashiro was talking into a handset at the aft panels.

"Can they fix it?"

"They are trying to do so, but Maron is uncertain they can do it in the conditions we're in"

"Order her to patch it for the next couple of minutes. Tell her to be ready to reverse the engines on voice command"

"Aye"

"_Radar reporting… Those two ships are closing a bit more slowly than before, but their electronics are not Japanese_" the Radar operator spoke through the voice pipe.

"Americans?"

"_Unknown_"

"Radio, this is the Captain – try and make contact with them and discover who they are and their intentions"

"_Acknowledged_"

"Captain, Maron says that we're taking on water at the maximum rate the pumps can handle" Shiro said, "Any more damage and we're going to be in trouble"

"Damn" Akeno said softly. "Wait…! I have an idea – tell Maron to get the pumps leading into the ballast tanks. I know this isn't the same _Harekaze_ as the last one, but the principle is the same"

"I remember that" Mashiro blinked and passed on the order to Maron down below.

"Captain, we've lost main power to the forward batteries"

"Switch to secondary power"

"We lost that half an hour ago"

"Torpedo officer, when the launchers are ready, I want you to send your crews to help restore power to the forward batteries" Akeno said. "Shiro, we're going to need more firepower"

"I know" the woman grunted as she hit her head on the bulkhead from a near miss.

"Have the Radio Room put out a general call for all destroyers to come over here at once – the crusiers and others will have to take care of the _Iowa_s and the _Clemsons_ by themselves – we must stop the _Montana_ at all costs"

"Captain" the woman on the Helm pointed out the windows to where the enemy were throwing out smoke from generators mounted amidships. Before anything could be said, the vessels slipped into the cloud and vanished.

"Radar, give me a contact bearing"

"_Too close for me to do that, Captain – their reports have merged and are in a dead spot_"

"Very well" Akeno punched in another circuit. "Sonar, can you get me a bearing on those ships?"

"_Negative_"

"Helm, slow ahead both"

"Slow ahead both"

"Lookouts, sing out the second you see anything moving in the smoke"

"Captain, we've got a fire in the forward magazine" Mashiro said quietly, "And there is too much damage for us to get there and pull everyone out. I should also tell you that the sprinkler system is non-operational in that section"

"Get the crew out of there out"

"They can't, Ma'am - they're trapped by the fire"

"How many people there?" Akeno tightened her grip on one arm of the Captain's chair.

"Eleven"

"I see…" Akeno closed her eyes, bowed her head and gathered the courage to make a terrible decision. "Do we have a working pump in there?"

"Um…" Mashiro checked the indicator panel in front of her. "We have two pumps"

"Very well. There's too much danger of blowing up. Flood them!"

"What about the crew?" and the Captain turned to looked directly at Mashiro.

"I gave an order, Mashiro - Flood the forward magazines!"

"Aye, captain" Mashiro could see the pain behind the order she was given. "Damage Control, Bridge… Flood the forward magazines"

"ENEMY SHIP TO STARBOARD!" and everybody turned to see the _Montana_ loom out of the smoke.

"My god" somebody muttered. All they could do was stare in abject horror as the guns rotated and aimed deep for her heart.

"HARD TO PORT – BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Akeno yelled as the guns fired and sent shells screaming into the _Harekaze_'s heart – tearing her innards to shreds and killing yet more of her valiant crew. The effect of the 18 inch guns at almost point blank range was devastating and those on the bridge could feel the entire ship almost coming apart at the seams, though Akeno and Mashiro could feel their old ship simply dying beneath them.

"Main electrical circuits has been destroyed" Mashiro said as she leaned against the indicator panels. "After guns are out of action, torpedoes are out of action, Radar and Radio are out of action and the forward batteries are firing under local control"

"Helm, get us out of here. Sickbay, medical team to the Bridge" Akeno called down to Minami.

"_I can't spare anybody – all my people are either injured, dead or otherwise busy_"

"Helm officer is dead – I have the wheel" Mashiro had to stand over the body of the dead woman who had steered the _Harekaze_.

"Shiro, keep us hard to port and then midships… We need to get space between us. Do we have any lookouts still alive?"

"Me" called the port lookout.

"Get on the morse lamp and signal for other ships to come in and support us"

"They've sunk the _Hiel_" the Gunnery chief said as she pointed to the smoking wreck that was the _Hiel_'s remains

"We have to do something" somebody said.

"We're in no position to do anything – we're badly damaged as it is" Mashiro snapped. Only the intermittent sounds of the _Harekaze_'s guns could be heard of the sounds of battle as the Bridge was silent and took in that inescapable fact. The Americans were targeting them with a passion and it was all Mashiro could do to steer them out of as much fire as possible.

"Deputy Captain, steer for the majority of our fleet" Akeno said.

"Captain!" the surviving lookout spoke in alarm, "We're trapped" and those still left saw the Americans had surrounded them and aimed every possible weapon at the _Harekaze_. When she reflected on it afterwards, Mashiro could only recall the sight of the gun flashes and never hearing the booming of the guns as they roared their deadly fire and spat shells out. "TORPEDOES IN THE WATER!" and the crew could only watch in frozen horror as the torpedoes and shells zoomed over and impacted the already battered _Harekaze_ – sending them all to the deck where Akeno hit her head, felt something pierce her stomach and then passed out.

#

On the Bridge of the _Hiro_, Tama and Mei could see the Americans closing in around the _Harekaze_ and pounding her into bits – huge sheets of flame going up hundreds of feet into the air.

"The Captain… Shiro…" Mei whispered in despair.

"_Bridge, Radio Room… Approaching ships identify as the _Bismarck_ and _Admiral Graf Spee. _They report six minutes until firing range_"

"My compliments to the _Bismarck_ and ask them to speed up a bit – we must save people from the _Harekaze_" Tama said.

"_Acknowledged_"

"The _Montana_ has fired a rocket directly at the _Harekaze_'s Bridge and is moving off at high speed – the other ships are coming about and giving covering fire" a lookout called.

"Deck crew, prepare to launch boats to pick up survivors" Mei ordered. "Guns and Torpedoes together – fire on any vessel still flying the flag of the United States"

**A/N:**

**A short chapter, but one I hope you will enjoy all the same.**

**Regards,**

**Pixel and Stephanie**


	4. The Finest Traditions Of The Service

**The Finest Traditions Of The Service**

"DAMAGE REPORT!" Mashiro yelled as she got to her feet. Looking around, she saw the entire Bridge had been demolished with the Bridge's roof completely gone, frames buckled, windows smashed to pieces and almost everybody dead and dying around her. "Captain!" Mashiro hurried to where Akeno was pinned to the deck by the chair she had been sitting in. Lifting it up, she got her friend and Captain to her feet.

"I told you I was not going to make it" she coughed. "Damage report"

"All Bridge personal except for ourselves are either dead or dying, the Bridge is wrecked and we've lost Helm control" Mashiro said quickly and precisely.

"See if you can raise Maron on the voice pipe" Akeno coughed badly as she leant against a shattered window frame.

"Engine Room, Bridge. Engine Room, come in Maron" Mashiro shook her head. "Something must have damaged it"

"Alright… Our main priority is regain Helm – lets get to emergency steering" Akeno said. "No… Wait…! Find two people who know morse to signal the fleet to continue their attacks on the enemy flagship at all costs"

"_Bridge, Engine Room… Sorry for the late reply, but I've had to send all my staff here to help with damage_" Maron's blessed voice came through the sole working voice pipe.

"Maron, me and Shiro are the only ones alive on the Bridge – the Helm has been smashed to pieces by enemy gunfire. Can you stop us from turning?"

"_Afraid not… The rudder is completely jammed into a hard to port turn – take about three hours to solve_"

"Do you have a torch?"

"_Yeah_"

"Then burn through the gears and cables – we need to get Helm control back. Shiro and I are going to try and get to the emergency steering room and navigate from there"

"_Understood. Out_"

"If anybody can hear me in the guns and torpedo launchers, this is Misaki. The Bridge has been disabled and we are going to steer from aft – all weapon emplacements are authorised for local firing on anything you like" Akeno looked at Shiro. "Lets get out of here" and they left the ruined Bridge. As they stumbled around, dodging the shell fire, they could see the immense damage their ship was taking – both of them knew they could not last long.

#

"My god…" Mina crossed herself from instinct as she saw the blazing hulk of the _Harekaze_ steaming at top speed into the middle of the enemy fleet.

"Are we too late…?" Kouko asked in fear for the lives of her friends.

"I hope not" Mina replied as a look of determination passed over her face. "Radio room, signal all ships that we have arrived and tell the _Spee_ to follow us. Helm, steer directly for the enemy flagship at flank speed. Gunnery Officer, _engage_" and the _Bismarck_'s weapons roared out in anger as the turrets fired at anything still intact.

"Try and raise the _Harekaze_" Kouko ordered.

"_Can't do it… Their radio must be damaged_"

"Or destroyed" Kouko muttered. "Find out who is next in the chain of command and find out their status"

"_Aye Aye_"

"Prepare for torpedo action" Mina called, "Your target is the enemy vessel alongside the _Harekaze_ – full warhead yield"

"Ma'am, the _Harekaze_ is so close that the torpedoes might hit them instead" the young woman replied.

"Then you will have to make sure that they don't"

"Aye"

"_Bridge, topside lookout_"

"Go ahead" Mina took the call herself.

"_Ma'am, I'm looking at the _Harekaze_ and I don't think her main guns are firing anymore – A Turret is stuck facing for'ard and the others have barrels sticking up and down_"

"_Radio here… I'm picking up her automated distress beacon_"

"Then her Bridge must have been destroyed…" Kouko whispered with fear. She tried to make out the area but couldn't because of the fire and smoke that clouded it.

"_Bridge, Radar reporting – I have a ship that just appeared at a close range on my scope bearing 034_"

"Can you identify it?"

"_Identification beacon reports it is _HMS Hood"

"Radio Room, is she close enough to raise on the short range?" Kouko asked.

"_Affirmative_"

"Then make contact and ask her intentions"

"_No need… They are transmitting a message to us – patching it in_"

"_This is the Battleship HMS_ Hood_ to Japanese fleet – we acknowledge receipt of general distress call. Our guns are armed, ready and we are cleared for action… Moving in to engage_"

"_I am the Imperial Russian Naval Vessel _Aurora_ – we stand ready to assist you_"

"Richelieu_ has arrived with the French spirit_"

"Good grief – where are all these ships coming from?" asked a crewmember.

"_Deck there – sail off the port bow_" somebody called down from the crow's nest.

"What the hell is _that_ doing here? More to the point, how did it _get_ here?" Mina asked – jaw dropping in disbelief.

"_This is HMS_ Victory_ – we stand ready to assist you in your fight… We will enter cannon range in three minutes_"

"They must be responding to the distress signals and call for assistance" Kouko commented with a shake of her head.

"All weapons, switch targets to whatever you like – fire at will" Mina said firmly. "No, wait… Have the _Spee_ remain at this distance and engage enemy vessels. Helm, close the distance to the _Harekaze_. Torpedo officer, set warheads to arm the minute they launch"

"They could swing round and attack us"

"Understood" Mina dismissed her. "Kouko?"

"Yeah?" the other woman whispered as she thought about the carnage going through the ship.

"Form a boarding pa–"

"Harekaze_ has stopped her engines_"

# # # # #

In the emergency steering position, the lights had failed and there was a sense of finality as the ship started to die. The vessel had shaken badly with a series of groans that spelt complete disaster for one and all.

"I've lost all power" Mashiro said in alarm.

"Maron, report"

"_Ma'am_" and Akeno and Mashiro looked at each other – only in exceptional circumstances did Maron talk like that. "_All weapon systems are down, navigational systems are dark, and _Harekaze_ is sinking... We can no longer fight the ship_"

"No…" Akeno gripped the emergency steering wheel tightly – trying to block out the words that echoed through her mind.

"Captain" Mashiro sighed in defeat and gently touched Akeno's shoulder, "It's time" and Akeno nodded and hobbled over to the handset mounted on the bulkhead on the right side of the compartment.

"Maron, stop both engines" she clicked the phone to the all over the ship channel. "All hands, this is the Captain. Abandon Ship without delay. Securing and Salvage detail, Abandon Ship. All hands, Abandon Ship"

"I'll help you to a boat"

"No… Shiro, this is what I meant earlier when I said I wasn't going to make it out of here"

"Don't be silly – I'll help you to get off"

"Shiro, the other ships in the enemy fleet are protecting their flagship – I'm going to ram it and detonate all remaining magazine stores at the same time. Nothing of this ship will survive bigger than a matchbox"

"I let you face this once before by yourself… I am not going to let you do this again" and the two women came to an understanding.

"Very well, Deputy Captain… Man your station"

"Aye, Captain" Mashiro saluted and took the wheel.

"_Engine Room evacuated_" Maron called up.

"Right, over the side" said Akeno as she coughed up blood.

"_Akeno… I know what you are planning on doing – the engines will automatically shut down if you try to overclock them without somebody to stop it_"

"You know we're all going to die"

"_Maybe they'll name a school after me_" Maron chuckled grimly. "_Steering, Engine Room… Engine Room is ready in all respects_"

"Thank you, Chief Engineer, for all the hard work you have done for me now and in the past"

"_The privilege was mine, Captain_"

"And it was an honour to serve with the both of you" Mashiro shouted so Maron could hear.

"_The last boat has been launched_" Maron said quietly.

"Very well" Akeno straightened herself and brushed some debris off her tattered clothes. "Full ahead both engines – activate plan DCO. Deputy Captain, steer directly for the enemy flagship and aim the bow to impact midships"

"_Full ahead both – flank speed indicated_"

"Course set" and a few seconds passed as Akeno and Mashiro looked at each other. A few seconds later, the sound of running feet made Akeno smile as Maron arrived.

"I'm here" she said.

"What are you doing?" asked Mashiro as she looked at Maron in confusion.

"Stopping you from making a terminal error" Akeno said and hit her with a fast acting drug to knock her out. "Get a boat inflated and toss her over the side quickly… I'm going to need your help in steering"

#

"Collision course has been set" Maron said, "I think we have about two minutes"

"Good" Akeno winced as she picked up her battered and dirty officer's cap. "Help me to get back up topside – I want to die on my own Bridge"

"I'd like to join you" Maron said quietly and the two women stumbled as quickly as they could over bodies and debris to stand on the ruined Bridge. As they surveyed the bodies and the almost completely burnt out compartment, they could see the looming shape of the _Montana_ off their bow. "I didn't realise she was so big…" Maron said quietly.

"This is Captain Akeno Misaki to all vessels…" the dying woman fished out the docking radio she had been carrying around for hours. "The _Harekaze_ is severely damaged and out of control we will crash in approximately two minutes… I intend to go down with my command. Akeno out"

#

"…_nd to go down with my command. Akeno out_".

"Please… No…" Kouko begged in a vain plea. She watched as the new arrivals got really stuck in with_ Richelieu _and _Aurora _firing their main weapons at the _Iowa_ class ships and the _Hood_ and _Victory_ pounding the _Montana_ with their combined firepower – even if it was oddly funny to see a sailing vessel firing cannon shells at one of the most powerful ships afloat. The American ship, however, managed to get away by having the _Iowa_ class ships cover its withdrawal but made a poor executed change of course.

#

"She's trying to make a turn" Maron said, "But her rudder is damaged"

"We have to smash into her midships area"

"Well steer her" Maron gestured to the broke wheel.

"It works?"

"My few remaining girls managed to get the wheel restored to up here. The _Harekaze _will answer to her Helm"

"Maron…" Akeno gripped the splintered wheel tightly in her grip, "It might not mean much now, but I need a Deputy Captain"

"Me..? I mean… It would mean a great lot to me" Maron whispered. "I always guessed I would stick with engines and never get a command level assignment"

"Then let the record show that Maron Yanagiwara has been appointed Deputy Captain of the IJN _Harekaze_ by order of the Fleet Commander" Akeno winced as she drew herself to attention. "Deputy Captain, assume your post"

"Assume my post - Aye, Aye, Captain" Maron came to attention and saluted. It was not something she normally did, Mashiro preferring to let it slide after all the years they served together, but she felt that Akeno deserved the formality even if they were the only two left alive on the ship. "Ma'am, all remaining crew members have evacuated the ship, scuttling and demolition charges have been placed and armed, engines have been rigged to overload… The ship reports ready for sailing, Captain"

"Very good, Deputy Captain. Set engines ahead full – damage acceptable" Akeno said.

"Engine ahead full… Engines report full ahead both" Maron replied.

#

"Ma'ams… _Harekaze_ is powering up" Mina and Kouko looked up from where they were helping survivors get onto the _Bismarck_. "They must have set the helm into a ramming course before abandoning the ship"

"You!" Kouko rounded on somebody wearing an engineering outfit.

"Yes?"

"How many got off the _Harekaze_?"

"Those that were still alive… I think maybe fifty of us or so"

"Where are the senior officers?"

"Bridge was destroyed… Maybe the Chief is out there somewhere waiting to be picked up. I think that some of them might have survived near the Bridge, but that area took a lot of damage – I doubt anybody made it without some sort of injury"

"Alright – go below and get medical help"

"Aye, Aye" and the girl passed cleaned away in a faint.

"Get me a boat ready – I'm going to board and try to get Maron off"

"Coco, sweetheart… I don't think she is on there alone" Mina held Kouko who ran into her arms and sobbed. As she spoke, torpedoes struck the starboard side of the enemy flagship multiple times. "Gufran is here… Better late than never"

"If he had got here quicker…" Kouko found she could not finish the bitter criticism.

"I know" Mina looked around at the crew. "Get everybody below and have those injured treated well" she ordered before the pair of them rushed up to the Bridge.

#

"Captain, permission to engage primary target"

"We have weapons?" Akeno was surprised.

"We've got thirty rounds in the forward auto loaders" Maron said.

"Prepare to open fire with automatic systems" Akeno gripped the broken wheel as she took a moment to steady herself and started to spin the wheel. "Deputy Captain, hoist all remaining Battle Ensigns"

"Aye" Maron used a pen knife to cut wires holding the huge flags which rose to the tops of snapped and bent flagpoles. "Captain, gun batteries report they are cleared for action"

"Open fire…"

#

"REPORT!" Kouko called out as she came into the room first and heard the sounds of gunfire over the sounds of the larger fight.

"_Harekaze_ has reengaged with her armament" a crewman said.

"_Bridge, lookout. _Harekaze_ has hoisted her Battle Ensigns_" and everyone could see that the mortally wounded vessel was flying every possible flag it could as it blazed from stem to stern.

"Guns and torpedoes, standby to fire" but Mina felt the added command was more or less unneeded. Torpedoes from Gufran's submarine seemed to be coming in at a rapid pace and Mina and Kouko could only assume he was firing one by one. _Hood_ and _Aurora_ combined their firepower to give the _Montana_ something else to shoot back at whilst _Richelieu_ had split her batteries to firing on the smaller destroyers and cruisers with back up from the few remaining combat worthy Japanese vessels. _Victory_, meanwhile, had decided to pick a fight with a trio of _Clemson_ class vessels and had dropped boats into the water to form boarding parties and seize them as Prizes.

#

The _Harekaze_ was fully on fire from stem to stern with smaller munitions cooking off and making small explosions which could be heard over the distance between it and all the other ships. The entire vessel was falling apart at the seams but was holding together for one last effort as seemingly her three most senior officers worked together. With a painful and horrifying lurch to starboard, she swung round to the right and surged forwards… The crew of the _Montana_ tried everything to blow the _Harekaze _out of the water but it was no good – the dying ship held on to life for just long enough as to see her final mission through. She smashed at full speed through the armoured belt of the enemy vessel and cut through the hull like a hot knife through butter. With the engines pushing the mortally wounded vessel deeper still and pushing through to the other side, the _Harekaze_ exploded as her remaining fuel and ammunition stores detonated – destroying herself and setting off multiple explosions from the enemy vessel. Both ships had huge fireballs ripping through them all over the placeand, when it dispersed, the old warship was nothing but almost vaporised debris whilst the opposing vessel had broken its back and both pieces pointed upwards and started down as crew members jumped over the side. The fighting seemed to halt for a moment as the sound echoed over the water and everyone took a moment to gaze upon the sight.

"Helm, all ahead full" Kouko felt rage fill every fibre of her being as she spoke. "Guns and torpedoes, together, target both sections and _engage_…" she spat out the last word as icily as anyone had ever heard her speak before. _Bismarck_ swung round to her helm as the guns roared out.

"Ma'am, torpedoes ready for launch. I have enemy crewmembers in the water that will get harmed from concussion waves"

"Torpedo officer, did I or did I not order you to fire?"

"Deputy Captain, they will be killed!" the woman protested.

"_Marine of the Guard_!" Kouko snapped out, "Take this officer to her cabin and confine her there until further notice" she picked up the phone and punched the right number. "This is a direct order – all torpedoes open fire" and soon both sections of the _Montana_ were filled with holes and the stern went to the bottom of the ocean.

"Helm, all back full" Mina said bitterly, "Stop both engines… Send the boats back to pick up survivors for treatment and tr–" she would have said more but the _Hiro_ surged at something well past flank speed and hurling her main forward batteries into the bridge of the still floating bow section. At this distance, the Bridge crew on the _Bismarck_ could see Tama and Mei with looks of utter destruction and death as they directed fire into the already ruined hull. Gufran's submarine fully surfaced and lent a hand by shooting with its deckgun and, together, they killed every last person that remained on the _Montana_'s Bridge before ceasing their pure hate as the bow section filled with water and slipped below the surface of the water.

# # # # #

"This" said Mei to Tama, "Is really going to upset some people"

"I don't care" Tama replied. "I have lost my Captain and my friend… Personally, I wish I could have sunk and killed every last one of them"

"We certainly did that on _Montana_'s Bridge section" Mei said coldly.

"I know" Tama shook her head and then looked over at the radio operator. "Send this at once"

"Aye, Ma'am"

"And Sparks?"

"Captain?"

"Send it Priority One on the emergency channel and send it in the clear"

"_Clear?_"

"Those are my orders, please carry them out"

"Aye, Aye, Ma'am"

_FROM: IJN HIRO_

_TO: IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVAL HEADQUARTERS, IMPERIAL JAPANESE GOVERNEMENT, YOKASURA GIRLS MARINE HIGH SCHOOL_

_MESSAGE BEGINS:_

_ALL ENEMY WARSHIPS DESTROYED OR SCUTTLED – MULTIPLE DEAD, DYING AND INJURED ON BOTH SIDES. SEVEN OF OUR SHIPS DESTROYED. IJN HAREKAZE DESTROYED IN FINAL RAMING OF USS MONTANA._

_CAPTAINS MISAKI, MUNETANI_ _AND YANAGIWARA WENT DOWN WITH THE SHIP._

_IT SAYS A LOT WHEN IT FALLS TO THE YOUNG TO FIGHT BATTLES._

_IT IS MY BELIEF THAT THE IJN ARE COWARDS_

_SHIMA TATEISHI,_

_OFFICER COMMANDING_

_IJN HIRO_

#

The remaining class members gathered in the _Hiro_'s wardroom and just tried to come to terms with what had happened. Their former class leader, deputy class leader and Chief Engineer had all died. Tama had taken command of the remaining vessels and directed that the other ships patch up their damage, arrest the enemy crews that still lived, treat their wounded and return to port – along with those American ships that still floated as they were now treated as prizes of war although the _Maikaze_ had fired all of her remaining torpedoes into the floating hulks of the _Iowa_ class ships to send them to the bottom before departing on Tama's orders. The French and Russian ships had departed for their home ports whilst _Victory _had somehow managed to take several vessels as Prizes of War and had transferred most of their crews to the _Hood_ for security before the little group had departed for Singapore._ Hiro_, however, remained on station with _Bismarck_ and _Graf Spee_ slowly cruising around the debris field looking for any sign of their fallen comrades.

"It's been over six hours, Tama" Mei said, "I think we have to realise the fact they were vaporised when the _Harekaze_ went up. They had all gathered in the _Hiro_'s wardroom because the friends and shipmates needed comfort from one another and, sadly, they had nowhere else to go…

"I just don't want to leave them without searching completely" Tama replied sadly, "But you are right. Inform the Bridge we will make one more pass before returning to port – have the Radio Room inform _Bismarck_ of our intentions"

"Sure" Mei shrugged.

"Captain" Tama took the call herself when the phone buzzed.

"_Starboard lookout… I have a small lifeboat that's not inflated correctly bearing 045_"

"Very good" and she clicked a different button. "Bridge, this is the Captain… Helm, slow ahead both… Steer 045. Deck crew, launch a boat to investigate"

"_Starboard lookout reporting… I can see a woman in the lifeboat – she's got black hair and is wearing a gold chain on her right shoulder_"

"We're on our way to the deck" Tama said and hung up the phone. "They've found a girl wearing gold lace on her right shoulder"

"That must be Mashiro!" Mei said and she led the charge out the room and to the deck with the others following right behind her.

#

"How is she?" asked Hime, looking through the window of the hospital.

"She is in good shape, but with some small fractures and heavy bruising" Minami gave her report methodically. "Her blood also shows signs of infection which we have treated and an unknown cocktail which acted as a fast acting knock out"

"The fools… Those brave idiotic fools" Tama shook her head in understanding.

"What?" asked Mikran.

"The Captain must have been injured badly and knew she couldn't make it for long" Minami explained. "I believe either she or the Chief Engineer injected her with the fast acting drug before tossing the lifeboat overboard and then her along with it. They stayed aboard to make sure she rammed the _Montana_ in the right place before detonating her fuel and ammunition stores – taking that bastard with her" the Doctor said.

"We found the _Harekaze_'s logbook and recorders" Kouko said. "They will need decrypting when we put in, but I suspect that we'll find out what was happening just before they rammed and scuttled"

"Excuse me" a young officer held a clipboard with a short note attached to it. "Captain, this has come through on the priority circuit" and Tama took the note and read it.

"It's an order to return to harbour and face a Court Martial for our actions here" she said. "Well, they can certainly do that for people staying in, but not for me" Tama looked at the officer who was waiting for a reply. "Find the Deputy Captain and have her report to the Bridge and wait for me there"

"Yes, Ma'am" and she hurried away.

"I've decided I don't want to do this anymore" Tama explained.

"Neither do I" Mei said quietly and the others agreed. "Radio Room, this is the Captain. Transmit the message you have hold of and then hand deliver the reply to me on the Bridge"

#

The reply came rather quickly and Tama took it, read through the message carefully and handed it to her friends to consider.

"Signal the _Bismarck_ and _Graff Spee_ that we are getting underway. Helm, both engines ahead full for Kure – steer 310"

"Both engines ahead full – steering 310"

"Deputy Captain, please come to attention. In my hand, I have an order to return to harbour and face trial for stealing the _Hiro_ and joining Captain Misaki in her mission. I do not agree with this after all we have done for the country. Therefore, my friends and I have resigned our places with the Navy and with the Blue Mermaids. Accordingly, you are now elevated to the rank of Acting Captain"

"Aye, Aye, Ma'am" the Deputy Captain saluted. "I relieve you, Captain"

"I am relieved" Tama returned the salute, held it for five seconds, dropped it and then followed her friends down to the Sickbay to await Mashiro's waking up from the operations she had just had.

# # # # #

_Hiro_ moved slowly up the channel, declining the use of offered tugs, and shadowed by the _Graf Spee_ as Mina had transferred her flag to her old ship and detached _Bismarck_, the more damaged of the two German vessels, with orders to proceed to Seadler Base and then for home. As two proceeded, Mina ordered black flags to be flown from all jacks and the national ensign put to half-mast with the same for the Japanese ensign at the courtesy flag jack. Whilst _Hiro_'s crew were still repairing damage and saving lives at this late stage in the journey, the _Spee_'s crew had made a show of loading all weapons platforms and then parading along the sides – firing an empty salvo as they passed the defensive fortifications in salute and to 'prove' their weapons were unloaded. An hour later, _Spee_ stood off in the bay as _Hiro_ moved alongside the pier and moored up. The dead and wounded came off first before Mashiro, wearing a full dress uniform with sword and medals, came down the gangplank with her friends – to be met by a party of military police and senior officers.

"You will all come with us" the leader of the MPs said.

"They have resigned from the Navy and the Blue Mermaids – you can not arrest civilians" Mashiro sighed.

"We certainly can, Captain" the leader said.

"No, you can not. You will have to apply to the courts for the ability to detain them for questioning overseen by civilian police" Mashiro said and then turned to the Admiral waiting for them and came to attention and saluted him. "Sir, as the Port Admiral of Kure, I hereby surrender to you"

"I accept your surrender, Captain" the elderly Admiral replied and returned the salute. "You will go with the MPs to quarters pending the writing of charges against you. Some of your message from _Hiro_ was garbled due to unknown electromagnetic fields… Where is the _Harekaze_?"

"She rammed the USS _Montana_ which was carrying a new type of bomb, Admiral. She was blazing from stem to stern, her weapons were down and she was sinking by the bow. I was… _knocked out_ at the end, but from what I was told _Harekaze_ rammed right into the middle of the _Montana_, cutting through all of her armour and decks before scuttling by detonating her munitions and fuel stores – she was almost completely vaporised. The full account is in my report, Admiral"

"I see… Where are Captain Misaki and Captain Yanagiwara?"

"Still aboard, Sir… They fell at their Action Stations" Mashiro replied and handed the Admiral a small container containing locks of hair wrapped up in the ribbons that Akeno and Maron often wore. "This was found in the lifeboat with me. Inside was a note explaining they left some of their hair so there would be something to bury"

"I see…" the Admiral almost seemed to be crying. "Captain, I must ask for your sword"

"Admiral, this is not my sword… It is merely borrowed in order for me to report formally to you"

"You do not have your personal sword?"

"No, Sir… It is in my quarters aboard the _Defender_"

"Very well" the Admiral shook his head sadly. "You will go with the MPs and be confined to base quarters until charges can be officially drawn up"

"Actually" Minami said, "As her attending Doctor, I certify that she is unfit to be confined to quarters – she needs medical attention before that happens"

"Very well…" the Admiral turned to one of his aides. "Commander, escort the Captain to the base hospital and report to me from there. Dismiss"

#

Despite many people, including her mother, begging her not to do so, Mashiro insisted on a full Court Martial so everything she knew was on the record. She had been offered a discharge on medical grounds, but the woman point blank refused and insisted on a full trial by Command Level members so that the entire country knew what had happened and that the Navy had acted dishonourably. Questions and testimonies took almost a full three weeks before the Court Martial panel retired to make its decision. When Mashiro was escorted back in, two hours afterwards, the first thing she did was look at the table she had placed her sword on – it was pointing away from her. Inwardly, she let herself relax just a little as she knew she would at least not be going to jail.

"Having weighed up all the evidence presented to me and considering all the testimony given in this court room, I find Mashiro Munetani guilty on all the charges and specifications but direct that there is to be no punishment" the Port Admiral said to gasps and whispers of confusion. "Whilst she organised the gathering of naval and Blue Mermaid forces to essentially mutiny, she was acting in the best traditions of the country and of the service. Despite passing on vital information, the Imperial Navy decided to have all of its assets as well as its contribution to the Blue Mermaid security forces return to home waters to await the rogue forces of the American navy. This was a mistake that cost countless lives on both sides and almost resulted in the destruction of our nation and of our people from a terrible weapon that would destroy all life. It is possible that those who issued the orders were paid by the Americans to stop our fleets from going out to stop the attackers… Knowing that she could not do it alone, Captain Munetani asked for help from her friends and fellow sailors to defy direct orders and go out and meet the enemy fleet before it could get within range to use this weapon" the elderly male put down his papers and looked around before settling his gaze on Mashiro. "What you did, young lady, is some of the bravest actions I have ever seen in my life. We should also commend the actions of those people lost in the fighting to save our country and especially Captains Misaki and Yanagiwara. Captain Munetani, you are dismissed with this Court's thanks for your dedication and devotion to duty. Court Martial dismissed!"

# # # # #

As she left the court, Mashiro was handed a sealed envelope with instructions to read it to her remaining classmates. They gathered together to celebrate the life and death of Akeno and Maron where Mashiro took the little podium and read the contents.

"After the end of the Court Martial, I was given this by a crewmember from the _Hiro_. It's a hand written note by His Imperial Majesty addressed to all of us that made it through this _incident_" Mashiro spat out the final word in disgust. She, as well as a number of other senior Blue Mermaid and Imperial Navy officers, had argued they should declare a formal state of war against the United States in retaliation of their unprovoked attack upon Japanese lives and islands. "I shall read it to you now…

_Crew of the _Harekaze_ Class... It's been a long war, it's been a tough war. You have fought bravely, proudly, for your country. You are a special group who found in one another a bond that exists only in combat among comrades. You have held each other in dire moments. Have seen death and suffered together. You should be proud to have served with each other to the same amount as I have prise in you being my subjects. You deserve long and happy lives in peace. For their final and greatest sacrifice, I have ordered shrines to be set up dedicated to Captain Misaki and Captain Yanagiwara._

_BANZAI!_"

#

After all had settled, Mashiro returned to the sea for a few more years before taking a very early separation and got her old classmates and friends together. She raised her children and sent them to the best schools possible, taught them everything she knew and said that she would be proud with whatever choices they made. Still in her early thirties, Mashiro found herself travelling to a meeting of the surviving classmates and friends in Tokyo as they tried to do every year at least once. As she walked up the steps to the meeting room, Mashiro saw Gufran walking inside and a new wave of regret came over her as she remembered Maron telling her that this would be her last sea going job for a while because she and Gufran were expecting their first child together.

"Mashiro!" Mei bounced over and hugged her tightly. A wave of hugs were exchanged before Momo stood and asked for quiet which she got very quickly.

"Deputy Captain" she began with a slight grin because only her friends got to call her that, "We'd like you to join us in sailing the seas again"

"I gave that up" Mashiro shook her head.

"We're not asking you to return to the services" Momo replied, "But to lead us in place of the Captain. You must know that pirate activity is getting more and more, so we thought about entering that business"

"_I'm not a pirate_" Mashiro frowned.

"Kind of thinking the other way" Mei took over. "A lot of older ships are being sold off, mostly the worn out ones, but some good ships are going to be broken up. We thought about buying one of them and doing it up so we can sail with high value targets to give them protection" and Mashiro thought it over.

"I have my children to look after"

"Mashiro, they go to a boarding school… Besides, we'd only be away for a week or two every month because we'd be very selective about what we do. We'd like for you to be the Captain in place of Akeno"

"Sailing around and defeating pirates all sounded such a great adventure to her…" Mashiro smiled. "Alright, I will do it. What sort of ship are we looking at and what do we need to do?"

"We're thinking a destroyer because we're used to that type, but maybe slightly smaller than the _Harekaze_ due to numbers" Hime spoke up. "As for the work, Kaede's father has promised us free use of his shipyards whenever we need it for repairs and resupplying… He said it is his way of paying a debt that can never be paid"

"What do you mean?"

"Despite the damage we took on _Yamato_, we brought his daughter's body home for burial"

"I see… Well, I guess we have a ship to purchase, man and store"

"_Aye Aye, Captain_" they all replied.

"You know" Mei spoke quietly to Mashiro as they made for the door, "They say Kawano was found dead in his cell three days ago"

"Really?" Mashiro raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure an investigation will find his killer"

"Was it you, Shiro?"

"No" Minami coldly said from behind them, "It wasn't her…"

# # # # #

The ship, originally supposed to be a destroyer, turned out to be the _Hyūga_ – a failed attempt a blimp carrier where all of the blimps sat ready for use on the outside deck. When tests proved unfeasible, it was slated to be sent for scrap but purchased by the newly formed Misaki Yanagiwara Corperation, named after Akeno and Maron. They purchased as many parts as possible, restored the weapons systems and overhauled the engines to give it a second chance at serving the seas. In addition, given the amount of space below the so called 'flight deck', they got a number of older model blimps to use as cargo lifters so that they could carry their own cargo in addition to escorting other vessels from pirate attacks. Whilst they would never sail on an actual job with the remaining classmates, Mashiro's two children helped in their own way by being given pots of paint and given free rein to paint some of the shared areas such as the Mess Hall, Lounge, the B Deck portside toilet and Sickbay. They'd also been allowed to choose the colour of the blimps and went for pink on the basis that you can't lose anything that's pink.

"Are we ready to go?" asked Mashiro as she took the bridge of the _Hyūga_ for her first operational trip as an escort vessel.

"The Harbour Master reports we are clear to depart" Mei said.

"Very good. Cast off mooring ropes fore and aft, ring on main engines, right standard rudder and slow ahead both" Mashiro said. For the first time in over twenty years, she felt odd to be on the bridge of a ship and yet not in a naval uniform but put it down to being a civilian now. Like the others, she had elected to wear a navy blue jumper, white shirt, black trousers and black boots – very much in the English officer style. Momo and Hime had come up with a sort of dress uniform that were pretty much business suits but with rank insignia on the cuffs. With regards to crewing the _Hyūga,_ Tama, in addition to being the torpedo officer, was appointed as Executive Officer with the rest of the crew taking up posts as close to what they had left. There were some new faces amongst the group, but mainly amongst the Engineering staff as the friends were able to man everything else – Akeno had long ago drilled them on manning all the different positions just in case and it served them well now. Besides, not all of the positions on the _Hyūga_ needed to be filled, so some parts of the ship were closed off and sealed with the watertight bulkheads closed.

"Mooring ropes detached" Tama said. Mashiro was disturbed from her thinking and looked over at her friend before nodding sharply.

"Sora, how are looking?" she called down to the engine room. Maron's deputy had been made Chief Engineer because Maron would have liked it and the friends really didn't want somebody new to change the way they worked.

"_Maron would have said the engines are purring like a kitten_"

"And what about you?"

"_I was purring like a kitten last night, but what I do at my club is another matter, Captain_"

"Just keep things together" Mashiro shook her head as she realised both Akeno and Maron would have been laughing at that comment.

"_We always do_"

"We have cleared the berth" Tama called as she leaned over the port Bridge wing.

"Wheel amidships – steer 225 and go to half ahead on the engines" Mashiro ordered and then blew the ship's siren three times in the traditional manner to let all around them known they were underway. Half an hour later, they were out at sea…

"We are clear and free to navigate" Minami said. In addition to her ordinary duties as Doctor, she was also their occasional Helmsman because not many wanted to replace Rin or Akeno herself on it. She wouldn't normally have been up there on the Bridge, but she expressed a desire to pilot a vessel out of harbour at least once.

"Very well… Navigation, plot me a course for Indonesia"

"Aye… Making calculations now… Recommend course 267"

"Minami, 267 – ahead cruising speed"

"Steering 267" the Doctor replied as she spun the wheel, "Engines to cruising" and Mashiro hoped Akeno and Maron would look down on her with pride as she took care of their remaining class members.

"Steady as she goes…" the woman ordered "_Steady as she goes…_" she whispered. Safe and on a mission of peace, _Hyūga_ sailed on with an experienced crew at her Helm…

"_Bridge, Radio Room – we're picking up a distress call from a merchant vessel about thirty miles away. They report they have struck some kind of mine and are taking on water – they estimate eleven minutes until they go under_"

"Do you have a location?"

"_Yes_" and the radio operator passed on the coordinates.

"Minami, steer 110 – all engines ahead flank. Turn the wheel over to Mei and then get sickbay ready" Mashiro turned to the intership phone. "All hands, this is the Captain, prepare to receive casualties. Engineering department, be ready to board and contain the flooding. Captain, out"

"Akeno and Maron would be proud" Tama said quietly.

"Yes" Mashiro replied, looking up at the pictures of all their fallen friends and classmates, "I do believe they would…". The pictures were something that she'd decided on which was a sentimental gesture on her point and showed their family would always be with them. Each of them had an individual photograph before the middle picture was of all of them after coming back from their first cruise together as a crew – plainly evident as Kouko was pictured with them and wearing the naval high school uniform.

"Captain, Helm is steady on course 110" Tama reported.

"Understood"

"_Radio room… The merchant vessel is reporting they are sinking but they have steerage ability – they are going to close the distance with us_"

"Acknowledged. Sora, I need more speed"

"_I can give you flank speed for ten minutes – the engines were not meant to go so fast this quick after refitting_"

"I will try not to anger our Engine Room demon" Mashiro gripped her glasses.

#

The merchant vessel sank, but the passengers and crew were rescued thanks to the training and skill of the _Hyūga_'s crew. From up above, Akeno watched them along with Maron as they launched rescue boats and got everybody off and managed to save a good majority of the cargo.

"You know" Akeno said with a smile, "I think we did good with them"

"Aye" Maron replied with a shake of her head, "_Hyūga_ is in safe hands now. We taught them to live and sail on the sea after all"

"That" said another figure as it materialised beside them, "Was something we used to say as children, wasn't it Mike?" and Akeno's head snapped round like a bullet.

"_Moeka_…?"

**A/N:**

**And that brings the final chapter of the final part of the Hide And Seek arc to a close. It has been a pleasure to write for it, and I do hope that you have enjoyed this final chapter as much as the other two and the three stories together.**

**Before anybody points it out as an error, Maron held the rank of Captain but not the position of Captain – something very common in the Navies of the world.**

**If there is anything you want to ask, feel free to ask in your Reviews and I'll try to get through as many as possible.**

**Regards,**

**Pixel and Stephanie**


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